Twelve of the 16 spots in EuroBasket’s single-elimination phase have now been secured, with Luka Doncic and the Slovenians among the teams that have qualified for the round of 16.
As a result of Slovenia’s 87-79 win over Iceland and Israel’s 92-89 victory over Belgium on Tuesday, Iceland and Belgium have been eliminated from round-of-16 contention, while Slovenia, Israel, and France have clinched their spots, joining Poland as the top four teams in Group D.
Both France and Slovenia have just two wins so far in the group stage and could theoretically finish tied with Belgium at 2-3 after Thursday’s games. However, both teams hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Belgium, as France defeated the Belgians on Thursday and Slovenia did so on Sunday.
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In Group A, Latvia joined the undefeated Turkish and Serbian teams in the top four by beating Portugal on Monday. Portugal will square off against Estonia on Wednesday with the final Group A single-elimination-round slot up for grabs — both teams are 1-3 so far, while Czechia is 0-4 and has no path to the round of 16.
After Germany and Finland became the first two teams in Group B to advance to the round of 16, Lithuania followed suit on Monday with a victory over Finland to improve to 3-1 in group play. However, the Lithuanians lost point guard Rokas Jokubaitis, who suffered a significant knee injury in Monday’s contest.
Montenegro (1-3), led by Nikola Vucevic, would become the last Group B squad to clinch a spot in the round of 16 with a win over Great Britain (0-4) on Wednesday. If Great Britain pulls off the upset in that game, it would open the door for Sweden (1-3) to advance if they knock off Lithuania on Wednesday. If Montenegro, Sweden, and Great Britain all finish 1-4, it would come down to point differential. And at -12, Sweden has the significant edge in that category over Montenegro (-71) and Great Britain (-136).
Finally, Group C remains the most wide open, with Italy joining Greece as the only teams to qualify for the round of 16 so far. Cyprus (0-4) has been eliminated, with Spain (2-1), Georgia (2-2), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-2) vying for the two remaining spots in the group’s top four.
Spain is currently in action against Italy and would secure its place in the single-elimination round with a victory. In that scenario, the winner of Georgia vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday would claim the final Group C spot. If Spain were to lose today and again on Thursday vs. Greece, the Spaniards would be eliminated in the event of a Bosnia and Herzegovina win over Georgia, since Georgia holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Spain.
To recap, here are the teams that have qualified for EuroBasket’s round of 16:
- Group A
- Serbia (4-0)
- Turkey (4-0)
- Latvia (2-2)
- Group B
- Germany (4-0)
- Finland (3-1)
- Lithuania (3-1)
- Group C
- Greece (3-1)
- Italy (2-1)
- Group D
- Poland (3-0)
- Israel (3-1)
- France (2-1)
- Slovenia (2-0)
And here are the teams still in the mix for the remaining spots:
- Group A (one spot available)
- Estonia (1-3)
- Portugal (1-3)
- Group B (one spot available)
- Montenegro (1-3)
- Sweden (1-3)
- Great Britain (0-4)
- Group C (two spots available)
- Spain (2-1)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-2)
- Georgia (2-2)